Cemex is pulling out of Denmark by having signed an agreement to sell its wholly-owned subsidiary 4K-Beton to Cementir, already the market leader in Denmark.  4K-Beton operates 18 batching plants and, with a volume of 0.6m m³, is the second largest producer of ready-mixed concrete in Denmark, when it generated an EBITDA of €2.9m on a turnover of €50.7m. If the authorities approve the deal, Cementir’s downstream operations in Denmark will be very considerably strengthened.
 
As part of the same agreement, Cemex is acquiring Cementir’s two subsidiaries in Poland active in ready-mixed concrete and aggregates.  These operate nine batching plants and last year sold 0.46m m³ of ready-mixed concrete, achieving a turnover of €20.2m and contributing an EBITDA of €1.1m. The Polish deal is also subject to official clearance, but this is unlikely to pose a problem as HeidelbergCement is not that far behind the former RMC operations in terms of ready-mixed concrete volumes and both Buzzi Unicem and Lafarge also have sizeable downstream operations on top of which there are a number of independent producers.
 
Assuming both deals are completed, Cementir’s ready-mixed concrete arm Unicon will pay Cemex around €10m, reflecting the higher volumes and profits of the Danish business. Cementir is the sold cement producer in Denmark and has no cement involvement in Poland, other than some exports, while Cemex has considerable cement interests in Poland, inherited when it acquired the RMC Group. Published under Cement News